I Can Copy the Talents of All Creatures

August. The sun was a blazing fire.

Under the continuous high heat, the earth was baked until it cracked, and all living things drooped listlessly.

Inside the quiet room, Yu Fei’s eyes were shut tight. The Cyan Lotus Sword before his forehead pulsed with a chilling killing intent. Outside, Yan Sea and Su Yue waited, their hearts so anxious they felt like they were waiting outside a delivery room.

Previously, Yu Fei had declared with absolute confidence that he would achieve Perfection Sword Intent within five days and shatter the third Sword Intent left behind by Mr. Lanren.

But now, it was the seventh day. Yu Fei’s blood refinement was nearing completion, yet he still hadn’t overcome the hurdle of his Sword Intent.

Yan Sea sat in a chair, sipping his tea one mouthful at a time. Su Yue paced back and forth, her steps growing faster and faster.

Watching the unhurried Yan Sea, she suddenly grew angry. She strode forward, snatched the teacup from his hand, and downed it in one gulp—a rare sight for the normally graceful and gentle Su Yue.

"You blockhead, are you really this dense? Aren’t you worried at all?"

Yan Sea placated her, "Worrying won’t help. This is a trial only he can pass on his own. There’s nothing we can do but wait."

Hearing this, Su Yue went up and started pounding on Yan Sea. "I don’t care! You have to start worrying with me."

He rose helplessly. Both of them were at the Gang Qi Realm, and their knowledge of martial theory was at a master’s level. But theory was theory, and emotions were emotions. Even Martial Artists were still mortal.

In Yu Fei’s spiritual space, the obscure Sword Intent had gone from calm and composed to flustered and enraged. Yet he remained unmoved. His water-moon-colored Sword Intent flickered in and out of existence, shimmering in the void like a speck of dust, eternally still.

As time passed, the obscure Sword Intent grew frantic, recklessly tearing through space and suppressing all things. Meanwhile, Yu Fei’s spirit grew weaker and weaker. Even with the threefold boost to his Spiritual Power from his red-grade talent, [Spiritually Adept], his cultivation realm was still low. There was a limit to how long he could hold on.

Finally, the illusory speck of dust formed by his water-moon Sword Intent drifted with the chaotic space, slowly positioning itself above the obscure Sword Intent.

In an instant, Yu Fei’s dormant spirit erupted.

"Sever!"

Like a flash of ephemeral beauty, a sharp blade of light, reinforced by an indestructible will, viciously struck the unprepared obscure Sword Intent. A piercing screech seemed to echo from the void. Countless moments of lying in wait transformed into a keen edge that painstakingly broke through the obscure Sword Intent, shattering it into fragments of brilliant light.

After the obscure Sword Intent vanished into light, an intangible will slowly merged into Yu Fei’s Illusory Sword Intent. Instantly, he felt his own Sword Intent become much more complete, now possessing a trace of a spatial attribute.

After many days of bitter struggle, he had finally forged his sword.

With no time to think, Yu Fei weakly opened his eyes.

The Cyan Lotus Sword, about to fall to the floor, was caught with a casual point of his finger, landing steadily in his hand. Yu Fei infused it with his Illusory Sword Intent. The Cyan Lotus Sword radiated ripples of watery light and then slowly vanished into thin air.

Sensing the commotion, Yan Sea and Su Yue pushed the door open and entered, looking at Yu Fei with anticipation.

"Did you succeed?"

Yu Fei didn’t speak. He slowly closed his eyes, and ripples of light emanated from his body. His aura became exceedingly ethereal, as if he didn’t exist in this world.

A golden glint flashed in Su Yue’s eyes. She then pointed a finger, and Yu Fei appeared just a foot in front of her. Looking back at where he had been standing, an illusory shadow was slowly fading away.

Su Yue was dumbfounded. "Yu Fei," she said in astonishment, "isn’t this Sword Intent of yours a bit too shameless?"

The Illusory Sword Intent was something Yu Fei had developed through day and night contemplation, aided by the top-grade Enlightenment Tea. This Sword Intent possessed both illusory and real properties. When converted into a physical form, it was solid and sharp. When rendered illusory, it could conceal his presence.

After defeating the third Sword Intent left by Mr. Lanren, Yu Fei’s Illusory Sword Intent had absorbed a trace of spatial properties. Now, when he turned his Sword Intent illusory, he could leave behind an ethereal afterimage, making it extremely deceptive.

It was just...

He suddenly realized that he had always imagined himself as a graceful Swordsman, wielding a keen blade, his movements fluid and elegant. His sword would flash like a startled swan, bringing a chill to fourteen provinces with a single strike, leaving no trace after traveling a thousand miles...

But now, he looked more like a petty villain, ready to stab someone in the back at a moment’s notice...

’Then again... this seems pretty awesome.’

Yan Sea looked at his bright and handsome student, and despite his happiness, he couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

He still remembered how when his own master drew his sword, the heavens and earth would lose their color, and countless enemies would fall beneath its light. If it were the future Yu Fei... He didn’t dare to imagine it.

An invisible Sword Cultivator who could pop up out of nowhere and stab you—his enemies would probably die of sheer frustration.

Just now, when Yu Fei had hidden himself, he hadn’t even noticed. Although his Dantian injury limited his current outward cultivation to the third realm, his foundational senses were still intact. This was truly absurd.

As someone in the Gang Qi Realm, Su Yue had needed to activate her Pupil Skill to find Yu Fei, which meant this form of Sword Intent posed a certain threat even to fourth-realm cultivators.

This meant that Yu Fei now had the ability to kill any Martial Artist at or below the third realm of Body Tempering. Such strength... was simply heaven-defying.

Yu Fei retracted his Sword Intent and said excitedly to Yan Sea and Su Yue, "Teacher, Teacher’s Wife, I did it."

Sword Intent was already profound and mysterious, and the one Yu Fei now possessed was a high-grade Sword Intent. Such an ability had a huge impact on a person’s temperament.

Previously, Yu Fei had fused the red-grade talent [Void Martial Body], which included the [Celestial Bearing] trait that enhanced his appearance and demeanor. While it had subtly made him more handsome, it also gave him a delicate quality, making him look like a piece of exquisite porcelain.

Now, enhanced by the Illusory Sword Intent, Yu Fei’s entire aura became ethereal and cold. He was stunning at first glance, but as soon as someone looked away, they would subconsciously forget his presence.

Yan Sea felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. A sliver of the dark cloud that had pressed on his heart for years finally dispersed, and a smile couldn’t help but touch his lips.

"Good! Yu Fei, your teacher thanks you..."

Su Yue was also overjoyed. Yu Fei’s performance was nothing short of a miracle; he had accomplished the impossible.

With Yu Fei’s Sword Nurturing Skill perfected, it meant he would certainly form the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation. Yan Sea’s obsession of many years began to loosen. He had a premonition that when Yu Fei achieved the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation, his own state of mind would return to perfection.

"Yu Fei, tell your family tonight. The next steps, whether it’s the transformation period for completing the blood pass or using the Dao Foundation Secret Technique, the [Heart Furnace Lotus Planting Skill], will have to be done at the school hospital."

Su Yue looked displeased. "Can’t we do it here at the martial arts hall? The facilities here aren’t bad."

Yan Sea gave her a helpless look. "You know as well as I do that when the blood pass is completed, the Qi Blood throughout the body erupts. It requires specialized pressure-reduction equipment and corresponding drugs to regulate the blood. The cultivation conditions at the hall are top-notch, but..."

"Alright, alright, we’ll go to the school hospital then. Stop nagging..."

Su Yue was fuming inside, because her nighttime raid last night had failed.

Yan Sea was a little confused. ’Why did she suddenly get angry again? The Su Yue I remember was gentle and graceful, but now... she doesn’t seem to have changed, yet she also seems completely different from before.’

Yu Fei quietly activated his Illusory Sword Intent. With a ripple of water-moon light, he had already slipped out of the quiet room.